Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Actinidiaceae
Genus: Actinidia
Species: A. deliciosa
Scientific name: Actinidia deliciosa
Common name: Kiwifruit
While kiwifruit is a major contributor to the economy, wild vines escaping into the environment are also a major pest, smothering native and exotic trees.
Using innovative approaches to controlling the pest over the past eight years in the Bay of Plenty the two organisations have destroyed more than 25,000 wild vines, including almost all of the older, large vines.
Each kiwifruit has about 1100 seeds with ripe fruit providing an easily accessible and attractive food source for birds and wild vines can easily establish through bird droppings. Wild kiwifruit can form mounds of tangled stems or grow up and over native and exotic trees. If left uncontrolled, wild kiwifruit can strangle areas of forest and native bush causing them to die or fall.
The underside of a leaf.
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
